If that is true... kids have it rough. They are experiencing EVERYTHING for the first time! Tonight I was reminded of that.
I had a kid in the health center at 10pm with a fever, waiting for his dad to pick him up. His name was Pete, let's say. Anyway, Pete is described by his teachers as a "deep thinker." He once asked in class, "Is it better to believe in many God's or not to believe in God at all." Wow. Sweet kid, and as he lay huddled under his blankets, trembling, he said to me,
"Excuse me. Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure." I said. His chin was quivering.
"What if my fever gets higher? I mean what if it keeps going up?"
"Don't worry buddy. Your body knows what to do. Just take some deep breaths." I didn't realize how scared he was, until this next question.
With huge, alligator tears rolling down his cheeks, Pete asked, "What if its too late for me?"
My heart broke. I know its a bit dramatic, but he wasn't trying to be. He was completely genuine. See, he has never had a fever before and it was all new to him: the body shaking, feeling warmer and warmer. It's miserable and if you've never felt it before... wow, I'd be scared too. How often do kids go through things for the first time? Constantly. And how aware of that are we. They're like aliens on a foreign planet.
Fear can be paralyzing. Especially when it can be justified. So the greatest gift we can give the kids around us is teaching them to face their fears. And remembering to keep facing our own fears too.
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
-Franklin D. Roosevelt
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